-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Retirement has n't been full of lazy days , rounds of golf and luxury vacations for Gary Terry . When this former telecommunications executive called it quits after a 32-year career , he took up an equally time-consuming volunteer job as chairman of the American Heart Association 's Texas chapter .

Gary Terry says his being saved by a public defibrillator he 'd pressed for was `` divine intervention . ''

`` I believe the Lord chose me to lead that group , '' said Terry , who lives in Hurst , Texas . But his `` sign from the Lord '' came , not in the form of a dream or a mysterious figure in his morning toast . Instead , it came in the form of a cardiac arrest by the security checkpoint at the Austin airport .

`` I was trying to get back to the metroplex because I had a meeting the next morning . I reached down to pick up my briefcase , and I kept going . ''

Here 's where the story takes an ironic twist : Gary Terry collapsed just 18 feet from an automated external defibrillator AED that he and his group -- the American Heart Association -- helped to install just eight months earlier .

`` A lot of people say there 's a lot of circumstances in your situation that really are unique , '' said Terry , `` and I say no , they 're not unique circumstances -- they 're divine intervention . And I truly believe that . ''

But the circumstances of Terry 's experience are unique , because there was a defibrillator nearby , and somebody knew how to use it . Watch more on the heart official saved by a defibrillator he pushed for ''

`` When somebody stops breathing and they hit the ground , for all intents and purposes , they 're dead , '' says Dr. Art Kellermann , noted defibrillator advocate and professor of emergency medicine at Emory University . `` There are a few minutes where you can reach through the door and pull them back from death if you act decisively . ''

And acting decisively , says Kellermann , means following the four links in the `` chain of survival . '' Visit CNNhealth , your connection for better living

The first link , according to the American Heart Association , is to recognize there 's a problem , and call 911 . Next , begin doing CPR , employ the use of a defibrillator and get the victim into the hands of capable medical professionals like the paramedics .

`` Research has shown time and time again that you win or lose in a cardiac arrest on the scene , '' says Dr. Kellermann . `` If you do n't get -LSB- the victim -RSB- started before you start transport , the likelihood they 'll survive to leave the hospital is less than one-half of 1 percent . ''

And statistics also show that if the chain of survival is initiated within 4 minutes , the chances of survival can be as high as 60 percent .

The good news is , CPR is easy to learn -LRB- local classes can be found here -RRB- and the automated external defibrillator is remarkably simple to use , even without significant training . According to several device manufacturers , you simply place the pads on a victim 's chest , and turn the unit on . Complex algorithms inside the unit 's computer determine whether a shock from the machine will help restart a victim 's heart . Once the machine determines that a shock should in fact be delivered , it tells the user to clear their hands from the patient 's body , and press the `` shock '' button .

It 's far less complicated than your average VCR , and almost impossible to screw up .

It 's for these reasons , and the relatively low cost of a defibrillator that Gary Terry continues his crusade .

`` I think this is part of the plan , and I think he wants me to keep telling people what a great piece of equipment the AED is . ''

And Terry says he wo n't stop until the defibrillator is as ubiquitous in public places as a sprinkler system .

`` I 'm gon na try to put AEDs in every building and in every house , and then I 'm gon na hang them on trees . ''

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Heart association official suffered cardiac arrest in a Texas airport

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His life was saved by an automated external defibrillator

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His group pressed to have the AEDs place in the airport months earlier